Two previously unknown sermons by Blessed Augustine have been identified in a twelfth-century Latin manuscript preserved at a monastery in Poland, according to the University of Würzburg in Germany.
The discovery was made during research conducted by Professor Christian Tornau of the German university. His study began in 2024 when he was asked to examine a manuscript that originally belonged to Bad Doberan Abbey and is now preserved at a monastery in Pelplin, Poland. The document contained six sermons attributed to St Augustine.
“Two of the six sermons are previously undiscovered writings by Augustine,” Professor Christian Tornau said, describing the discovery as entirely unexpected.
A Controversial Episode from the Old Testament
The newly identified texts comment on the biblical account of the Witch of Endor in the First Book of Samuel. Before his battle against the Philistines, King Saul, having received no answer to his prayers, turns to the medium to summon the departed Prophet Samuel.
“Saul believes himself to be in a hopeless situation shortly before a battle against the Philistines. God does not listen to his prayers. He turns to a witch,” the researcher explained.
According to Professor Tornau, the passage raises significant theological questions about the relationship among human freedom, the activity of evil, and the omnipotence of God. Rather than offering a simple answer, the sermons present several interpretations that invite listeners to reflect more deeply on the biblical text.
A Characteristic Augustinian Approach
The German scholar believes that the structure and style of the two sermons closely reflect St Augustine’s characteristic method of argument.
“The first was preached during the Sunday service and ends with the theodicy question and the interpretations. It was not until the second sermon on the following Wednesday that the options were weighed up.”
“The style, humour and content also clearly indicate that the sermons in the manuscripts were actually written by Augustine,” Professor Tornau added.
To eliminate any doubts about their authenticity, the texts were examined alongside other specialists in Latin Christian literature. During a summer school in Vienna in 2025, around 20 researchers studied the manuscript and unanimously concluded that the sermons are authentic.
A Contribution to Augustine’s Corpus
The research also traced the manuscript’s historical transmission, a difficult task because many important documentary sources have been lost over the centuries.
“Firstly, the creation of such a manuscript in the 12th century is unusual. A copy at the beginning of the 8th or 9th century would be more typical.”
Professor Tornau believes the manuscript may derive from an older textual tradition connected with Amelungsborn Abbey in Germany. However, this hypothesis cannot be proven conclusively because the abbey’s library was destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648).
The results of the research will be published in a critical edition prepared by specialists at the Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum (Corpus of Latin Ecclesiastical Writers), the institution dedicated to editing Latin Christian texts.
“This is not a sensational find like the 30 writings of St Augustine that were discovered in Mainz in 1990. But we are supplementing Augustine’s extensive body of writings with two further exciting texts in a critical edition,” Professor Tornau concluded.
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